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Dress Up This Town | Blog Tour

Today I’m so very honored to be joining a wonderful blog tour hosted by my friend Tibeca of Sewing by Ti! She invited some amazing bloggers to talk about their interpretation of a lovely song, “Dress up this Town”, with their unique take on dresses. My pick for this tour was the Spellbound Dress by Pattern Emporium.

I must be completely honest with you, this dress has been finished and languishing in my sewing room for almost four months now. Since it wasn’t a pattern test, getting it hemmed and photographed was not a priority. Baby T has been very restless lately, sleeping only 30 minute increments at a time, and my sewing time has been shorn down to a minimum. I can barely test one garment a month! That’s why I seized this opportunity to blog about what has become my favorite silhouette from one of my top five designers.

About The Pattern:

A fit-and-flare silhouette with two necklines (scoop and high or boat neck), 3 “arm designs” (cap, sleeveless and flutter), and 4 lengths (short, knee, midi, maxi), the Spellbound is drafted for a multitude of Australian sizes, AU Size 6-22 = Hip/Seat from 85-129cm (33.5″ – 50.5″). Excellently drafted, with meticulous instructions in a rather chatty style that helps you feel comfortable while you sew, Pattern Emporium’s patterns are a Must-Purchase-On-Release-Day for me. I have sewn up more than three of their patterns, and each has been an enjoyable journey.

With this dress, the designer emphasizes muslining, to figure out body adjustments such as those for swayback or short torso. I needed to shorten the bodice and add length to the skirt since my postpartum belly is still very much evident. Shortening the bodice meant that the flare would begin just at my natural waist and skim over my lumps and bumps, a very forgiving style for my shape.

I made a size 18 in the sleeveless scoop-neck version, in a maxi length. You are instructed to pick a size according to your hip measurement, and that the stretch of the knit fabric will compensate for any variation in bust measurement. From seeing the dozens of versions sewn up all over Facebook and Instagram, I know this dress is almost universally flattering.

But for the fact that I’m nursing and it’s impossible to nurse in this dress without flashing the world, I would declare this the Pattern of The Season for me. The Pattern of The Season is the one pattern I keep making whenever I feel the urge to sew, since it’s fit and utility in my wardrobe is unmatched for the season.

The Fabric:

I used a cheap-yet-indestructible ITY from Fabric.com. For $5 a yard, three yards of this cool grunge windowpane fabric fetched me a really fun dress that is cool in this Texas heat. Most of the fabric is in the very swishy skirt, so it’s important to pick a light to medium weight fabric, you don’t want the dress getting dragged down by its own weight. I would also advise adding clear elastic to the shoulder seams to stabilize them.

The only downside of this fabric is using it for the bands. There’s not enough recovery for me to be absolutely happy with it. There’s a slight tendency for the bands to flip away from the dress. Topstitching will take care of that, but it is an extra step to take.

All in all, I’m so glad I get to share this darling dress with you! It’s one that I see myself wearing to a fun outing once baby is done nursing, and I absolutely recommend this pattern to you!

Don’t forget to enter the giveaway, there’s a ton of awesome prizes to be won! You’ll never win if you don’t enter! Please also be kind and visit my fellow bloggers on the tour, I’ve listed them all for you. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to “Dress up this Town” in your own style!